A Purdue University professor has filed a freedom of speech suit against his school and five co-workers after getting in hot water for inflammatory statements about Muslims on his Facebook page.

Tenured political science professor Maurice Eisenstein was cleared by a university investigation into his Facebook comments, which included a reference to “the idiot Mohammad [sic}, may his name be cursed.” But Eisenstein claims the investigation nonetheless damaged his reputation and disputes a finding that he retaliated against other faculty members.

“I was trying to be challenging as a professor, and do what I was trained to do,” Eistenstein, who joined the school’s faculty in 1993, told FoxNews.com.

The flap unfolded late last year, when Eisenstein posted a photo of the aftermath of a massacre of Nigerian Christians, purportedly carried out by African Muslims, on his Facebook page.

“Where are the ‘moderate’ Muslims’ reaction to this? Oh, I forgot they are still looking at the earth as flat …,” Eisenstein wrote above the post.

Other members of the faculty, as well as members of the Muslim Student Association, learned of the comments and went to school officials. Eisenstein maintained that the post was on his personal page and in no way reflected on the school. History professor Miriam Joyce, who later filed a harassment complaint against Eisenstein, told FoxNews.com the comments could alienate students.

“We have Saudi students,” Joyce said. “We have other Muslim students. This is wrong. It creates an unpleasant and unwelcoming atmosphere. “I’m concerned that Muslim students and their parents will get the wrong idea about my school.”

The Muslim Student Association could not be reached for comment.

The school’s investigation, led by Chancelor Thomas Keon, cleared Eisenstein in January of violating the college’s free-speech and anti-harassment rules. However, he received a written reprimand for allegedly retaliating against Joyce, as well as a second professor, Saul Lerner.

Eisenstein denied retaliating or harassing his colleagues, but acknowledged a bitter e-mail exchange with Lerner and denies making a callous reference to Joyce’s son, a former hedge fund manager who committed suicide.

Eisenstein said his freedom-of-speech suit is the result of the university’s investigation into his comments about Muslims – even though the probe ostensibly cleared him.

“When you investigate free speech, you chill free speech,” Eisenstein said. “How am I supposed to do my job without free speech. I’ve changed. Every time I go into a classroom, I look around and wonder who will complain about what I say.”

Eisenstein enlisted the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) in bringing his suit against the Big Ten school.

“This is not the first time and it won’t be the last time we will see a university punish a student or professor for constitutionally protected speech on Facebook,” said FIRE President Greg Lukianoff. “Professors at public universities should not have to go to court to defend their free speech rights.”

Joyce said freedom of speech shouldn’t permit a professor at a public school to gratuitously denigrate the beliefs of others, including students at the school.

“I’m all for free speech. I want it for me and I want it for everyone else, but there’s got to be some judgment used,” Joyce said. “You don’t cry fire if there isn’t a fire and then say it was protected by free speech.

“I’m a [history] teacher,” she added. “I’d rather be dealing with Bahrain than Eisenstein, anyway.”

To bad about the MUSLIM STUDENTS in this college. The best way to shut up the MUZZIE STUDENTS is to stay home and go to your SAD COLLEGES IN YOUR COUNTRY. None of you should be allowed into our schools under any circumstances. LOCK AND LOAD.

If Muslims want to be Muslims let them live in an Islamic society in a Muslim country where they are controlling the activities of non-Muslims. Neither Europe nor the Americas should cater to these Islamic lunatics or even humor them. Muslims want others to cow down to their wishes. I do not like the Islamic attitude and onky there was another El Cid (Don Rodrigo de Vivar of Spain) to put them to the sword. I have had enough of this Islamic nonsense.

How revealing of the sickness that permeates the muslim mind, that the photos of the slaughtered Christians massacred by muslim butchers did not get the muslim students riled up or even fill them with shame for their religion, but a comment from the professor about Islams prohet offended them…..wierd!! muslims have no conscience or morality

Muslims don’t have to do any terrorism to take over America. All they have to is come here and multiply (more babies and bring in relatives) and they will out vote us by sheer numbers. We need to create a DOCA Act — Defense of Christianity Act. Islam is a foreign internal enemy.

translation of Joyce’s comments- you have free speech unless Muslims don’t like it- thier money is more important to this university than your rights- all your actvivities, even NOT on campus or classroom- we are watching YOU!!

“”gratuitously denigrate the beliefs of others, including students at the school”””
now Joyce are you going to BAN MSA from campuses? every bit of their speech, every motive and goal and piece of “literature” they SPEW their HATRED of JEWS and Israel?? they are sponsored by MB- an enemy of USA- on many campuses they hold a HATE ISRAEL DAY (the bogus BDS, anti apartheid lies are told and theatrical displays of bogus checkpoints delay and harass students- these same kids you claim to protect- at some universities Jewish students have been attacked physically by these thugs) and at other’s universities they shouted down other’s free speech if it was pro Israel)

Sad and very very true Wally.
Does anyone else think that last comment by Joyce, was anti-semetic? Why is she comparing a Muslim city to a Jewish man? “I would rather be dealing with Bahrain than Eiisentsein.” or maybe she is just another over educated illiterate idiot.

Shouting fire when there is not one is bad.
Shouting fire when there is one is good.
Silence when knowing of a fire has been, is and will be increasingly disasterous.
Keep up the good work CS and posters.